Splints

Splints are a bony growth on the on the fibrous splint bone if a horse is worked hard before he is fit or over jumped or worked when young

extra pressure is put on the splint causing it to tear local bleeding will occur causing a soft swelling at first if noticed the horse should be

rested,after a while the swelling will become hard forming a splint after a further few months the bony lump will reduce in size. Between the

ages of 5to7years the fibrous ligament changes to bone so after that age tearing cannot occur, so splints are unlikely to form after 7years of age.

Sesamoiditis

The proximal sesamoid bones are two small bones on the back of the fetlock joint which form part of the suspensory apparatus The

suspensory ligament divides into two branches in the lower third of the metacarpal or metatarsal (cannon) region The inside and outside

branches attach to the top of the inside /outside of the sesamoid bones respectively. Attached to the bottom of the sesamoid bones are three

pairs of ligaments -the deep, middle, and superficial distal sesamoidean ligaments- which themselves insert on the proximal and middle

phalanges(long and short pastern bones), as the fetlock joint flexes and extends the sesamoid bones move up and down.

A long toe resulting in a broken pastern line causes abnormal stress on the suspensory ligament and predisposes it to injury

Horses going at speed as well as dressage horses put great stress on the joints. Lameness is variable and may be sudden or gradual in onset

fore limb lameness may be accentuated by flexion of the fetlock joint but this is not always the case. in the acute early stage pressure

applied to the sesamoid bone can cause pain if there has been tearing of the attachment of the suspensory ligament.

Lameness that is associated with damage to either the suspensory ligament or the distal sesmoidean ligaments resulting in damage to the

attachments to the sesamoid bones will usually resolve with rest but there is a relatively high incidence of recurrence.

Physitis

Physitis is the term applied to pain associated with the abnormal activity in a growth plate (phsysis), usually the lower growth plate of the

radius, just above the knee the condition may be related to osteochondrosis, the condition occurs in rapidly growing young horses and most

commonly in yearlings, there is usually a slight swelling and heat around the lower end of the radius just above the knee, the horse is not

always lame; it may be lame if only one leg is affected or may show a stiff stilted gait if both forelimbs are affected.

Treatment

The diet should be restricted and calcium-phosphorus ratios checked to ensure that there is not an imbalance. If the horse is lame it should

be confined to a small paddock. The prognosis is favourable, given time the swelling usually subsides

Bog spavin

Bog spavin is a swelling on the true hock joint it does not normally cause lameness, one or both hocks may be affected, it is practically

common in young fast growing youngsters, and both in these and older horses resolve spontaneously.

Bone Spavin

Bone spavin is the colloquial term for degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis of the hock. It is one of the most

common causes of hind limb lameness in the horse, bone spavin mostly affects the distal intertarsal and tarsometatarsal

joints and rarely involves the proximal intertarsal joint, the disease is usually bilateral, that means it affects both limbs

this presents as a generalized hind limb stiffness which is worse when first coming out of the stable and improves with exercise

it is more evident with horses that do dressage because lack of hind limb impulsion is more noticeable he may find it difficult to maintain a

rhythm in lateral work and take unlevel steps on small circles frequently when working in medium and extended paces

the horse may lose rhythm or take obvious lame steps or break stride, there can be other reasons for these symptoms-lack

of training -suppleness- insufficient preparation for the movement-but if there is no good explanation-then slight lameness could be the

cause sometimes because the horse is not pushing properly from behind he appears to be restricted overall and the problem is wrongly

attributed to a back problem many horses with hind leg lameness will develop muscle soreness in the back as a secondary condition

to the hind leg lameness Although some but not all horses with spavin deviate the flight of the hind limb as the affected leg goes forward

underneath the body and then it is stabbed outwards as it comes to the ground this results in excessive wear to the outside

branch of the shoe, in bilateral lameness the stiffness tends to lead to dragging of the toes and excessive wear to the toes of the shoe

there are other conditions that also cause toe dragging including being young and being on the lazy side, in spavin there is also restricted

flexability of the hock joint, some horses develop a swelling on the inside of the hock at the seat of spavin this is at the level of the

distal intertarsal and tarsometatarsal joints, although the swelling feels bony it is but a fibrous reaction around the joints.

Sprain of the fetlock

The horse is lame. There is enlargement of the fetlock joint it will have warm soft tissue swelling round the joint.

treatment aims to reduce pain and soft tissue inflammation, cold hosing and water bandages help to reduce swelling.

pain killers are beneficial. Ultrasound treatment is also useful in the early stages but is not essential, box rest should be continued until all

swelling has dissipated

The prognosis is favourable if there has been no major damage to the collateral ligaments of the fetlock joint resulting in instability of the joint.

Ringbone

Ringbone are bony exotosis affecting the interphalangeal joints of the horses foot or any bony enlargment in that region

there is high ringbone where the pastern joint is the seat of the disease and low ringbone where the deposits ocur round the coffin bone

there is also false ringbone where theenlargement occurs upon the shaft of one of the bones and does not involve the edges

of the joint surface(although it might do later). The term ringbone should be restricted to conditions in which a partial or

complete ring of bone is formed round one or other of the joints , and all other bony enlargements affecting the shafts of the shafts of

the bones but not involeing the edges of the joint surfaces should be called exotosis.

Injury, inflammation of the periosteum of the bone- sometimes following an infection, also possibly a vitamin deficiency, are believed to cause ringbone

It is only in high ringbone that any lumps can be felt if lower ringbone there will be no out ward visable signs at first but after a while the hoof alters shape with a bulge at the coronet ,

Shoulder lameness

A horse with genuine shoulder lameness exhibits a gait with certain characteristics the horse tries to limit the amount of movement of the

joint by taking a shorter stride the flight of the foot is lower than normal to avoid flexion of the shoulder and the horse may drag the toe as

the leg is advanced there is a marked lifting of the head as the lame leg is advanced, resulting in an obvious head lift and nod, because the

horse is not using the leg properly the shoulder blade may become wasted.

   DIAGRAM OF THE FOOT OF THE HORSE      

1) Bulb of heel. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

(2) Bar. 
(3) Sole. 
(4)Ground border of wall. 
(5) Toe. 
(6) White line.
(7) Point of Frog 
(8) Of Frog 
A. Central groove.                                                                                                                 
B. Ridge. 
C. Lateral groove.
D. Apex.
                                                                                                                                                                        

1) Insensitive laminae. 
(2) Sensitive laminae. 
(3) Laminar corium